Two tiny model homes have landed at the Castro Valley Station parking lot, which is currently underutilized by passengers as BART continues to bring riders back to the system, the agency said.
BART’s Office of Real Estate and Property Development is renting a portion of the Castro Valley Station lot to Bay Area-based company Spacial to display two model accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, which are sometimes called in-law units, granny flats, casitas, or backyard cottages.
In 2020, California passed a series of laws that made it much easier to get ADUs into most backyards in the state of California. Spacial’s units start at $209,000 for a studio, which includes the foundation, utilities, structure, labor, and city building plans, according to BART.
Currently, the two Spacial units take up 16 parking spaces (the parking lot has 1,102 spaces in total.) BART will reevaluate the rental agreement at the end of November to determine whether to renew the lease, which will be dependent upon BART passengers’ use of the parking lot.
During the pandemic, amidst lower ridership, BART has reimagined its parking lots as COVID testing sites, farmers markets, vaccination sites, and is considering a Meals-On-Wheels hub.
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